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Welcome to the Cockermouth Astronomical Society website. Hopefully you'll find all the information you need about our society and astronomy in West Cumbria here. If not contact us.

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Monday, May 26

First views from Mars Phoenix

It seems NASA's Mars Phoenix probe had a perfect landing. The first images are not available on the web and they look fantastic. Remember Phoenix is a lander, not a rover, so the view will not change over the mission. The lander is designed to do science.

These images are false colour at the moment, but I'm sure will be made more realistic over the coming days (or hours even). The main thing to note is the polygonal shapes in the ground, seen better below. These are similar to patterns seen in areas of permafrost on the Earth, and are exactly what the mission team were hoping for. Strong evidence of water ice just below the surface.